Forgot your ID? That won't be a problem next year thanks to one state's app

Iowa takes the leap in 2015

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Some smartphone owners have taken to using cases that include slots for credit cards and a driver's license, but between mobile payment services and one other new development even that might not be necessary soon.

The state of Iowa will release an official smartphone app that can act as users' legal identification in 2015, the Des Moines Register reports.

Iowa residents will still need to have a physical driver's license, but the app "is basically your license on your phone," Iowa Department of Transportation Director Paul Trombino said.

As such users will be able to use just a smartphone in situations where a physical driver's license would otherwise be necessary.

Now if only the other 49 states would follow suit, and then every retailer in existence would start accepting Google Wallet and Apple Pay, physical wallets might actually become a thing of the past altogether.